Melancholia

by An Ordinary Riceball

Team 7 has issues, severe issues. But when Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto start unraveling and a secret gets revealed, it starts to seem like it's not just them anymore, but Kakashi too, and numerous others with psychological scars of the past. Will they ever manage to truly work out their problems? Self-harm/Eating Disorders/Abuse/Triggers. Parental!Kakashi, Tsunade & Iruka. NaruSaku

18. Chapter 18

Story: Melancholia, Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

1. WOW ALREADY 200 FAVS THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYBODY FOR ALL YOUR KIND WORDS AND SUPPORT, IT MEANS SO MUCH ;w;

2. There will be a few more NaruSaku hints in this. Soon, I'll start developing it more though so be looking forward to that!

3. I know I keep saying that I'll get to focusing on Kakashi eventually, but I really do mean it. His students have so many issues that it's been hard to prioritize himself but the adults still have plenty of their own problems they need to work out. Team 7 is my main focus for this, so I will be going into Kakashi more very soon, and I think that's another benefit of having Iruka and Tsunade, plus eventually Jiraiya in picture is that they'll be the ones to remind him that while yes his students are important he needs to take care of himself just as he's been telling his students to do. I do have plans for him as well.

Replies to Reviews:

Camryn Kissel chapter 17 . Dec 27

I love your story. it's really good to hear about what's going on in their lives and What they are thinking. I really like how you focus on the positive Traits of Sasuke, Kakashi ,Sakura, And All of the other characters. I hope you had a great Christmas and Happy New Year.

Glad you're enjoying it! And yes, it's always fun to explore the positive aspects of characters that often get over shadowed by the fandom with their negative traits. And Happy Holidays!

Yuffie's Ninja Insanity chapter 17 . Dec 22

I loved how this turned out I really enjoyed it! I've been hitting a writers block as well for my stories it's awful. I love how concerned everyone is and they're really trying to help Naruto, I think your giving all the characters a lot of thought! This is awesome thank you and happy holidays !

Ugh I really hate Author's blocks! They make writing absolute hell! And yessss. I love writing team 7 and everybody else concerned for each other, and I've been trying to add in tidbits where everybody can relate to and help each other. Thank you and happy holidays! :D

Emawee33 chapter 17 . Dec 18

God this made me cry so many times tf how'd you even manage to make this so emotional for me

I'm sorry! I'm glad my story is effecting you though! ;w;

Phoenixx Rising chapter 17 . Dec 17

Loved pretty much everything about this chapter! Iruka, shikamaru's reaction. Ino's as well as her staying to be there for Sakura. I also like Sasuke in it as well. The desperation causing him to act but also not being too open about it. Very well done chapter.

I'm really really happy you've liked my story! And especially the stuff with the side characters since it's my first time truly working with them! Sasuke has been so much fun to write for me, because he has so many feelings to work through, is angsty but also has a very vulnerable side to him that I feel is often overlooked cuz he doesn't show it very easily or flamboyantly. Thank you!

Jorge Luis Arias Arcentales chapter 17 . Dec 16

Hello!
It's been a while
I like the chapter
I think I always start my comments here by saying how much I like the story, but it's the truth so I don't think I can change it... idk
Anyway, great job with the characters, I really like how this is going. I love how the middle of the chapter focused a little more on sakura and the new characters since we were not seeing much of how all this was affecting Sakura and/or Sasuke
The kyubi thing... I wouldn't mind if Sakura tells Ino, because of his closeness with her and stuff. But you also have to remember that Naruto's status as Jinchuriky is a "Secret" rank S... Or a taboo, I've read so many fanfics that sometimes I get confused with the original XD

Thank you for your efforts to bring us a long chapter again, the gesture is appreciated n.n

It's totally fine, it just makes me really happy you keep commenting hahah. And yeah I tried my best to level out the focus of each character so it stays balanced because I feel like they're all important.

I do plan for the other characters to find out as well, Ino too, it's probably just gonna be a bit before I get there, because yes, part of the issue is that it's not really supposed to be talked about.

Anyway, as always, I'm super happy you enjoyed it!

GunBlade2020 chapter 17 . Dec 13

Hi there

I think only Ino knows about Sakura's situation, but then comply with her wishes to let it go, which may not be the best thing for Sakura I think.

It is good to give a person space to let them sort things out, but this might not be the best case scenario, in my opinion at least.

Keep up the great writing and stay safe!

Yes, Ino is the only one that knows the extent of everything going on at the time being, but I do plan on having her come back in pretty soon, so yeah. I think under bad situations, people can make not so great decisions to be honest. Thank you!

Shippingshoujo chapter 17 . Dec 11

Yay! Another update! The chapter was good!

Glad you liked it!

zachosg7 chapter 17 .Dec 11

good chapter, not sure how to properly express how I feel about this chapter but it is positive, I just have no other word than "good" to describe how I view this chapter

It still makes me very happy to know you enjoyed it! :D

DankSodaCan chapter 17 . Dec 11

Good.

Thank you! :D

...

ONTO THE STORY ~

It was about thirty minutes later that Ino finally got up from her seat next to Sakura, stretching. "I should probably go ahead and meet back up with Shikamaru, but you have to promise me you'll get some sleep tonight, Sakura. You really look exhausted...!"

"Right, I'll try to. Thanks, Ino…" Sakura smiled a bit.

"Don't mention it." Ino waved a hand, returning the gesture, before she gave a concerned look. "Just take care of yourself. And if you need anything, always feel free to ask, alright?"

Everybody keeps telling me that, but I feel so lost...

"Okay…" Sakura nodded weakly, before Ino went back to visit Chouji, leaving her to herself.

Still, after talking to Ino, I think I feel a little better now...

When it came down to it, Ino was really kind and always looking out for her friends. It was one of the things that had drawn her to her back in her childhood.

Although she would never say it aloud, Sakura was pretty sure that if she'd never met Ino, she might not even be a ninja right now. Ino was the one who inspired her, the one she'd idolized all these years and wanted to be like. She was beautiful, smart, and confident, everything Sakura herself wanted to be.

Come to think of it, that was sort of what had drawn her to Sasuke too.

To her, who wasn't from any special clan unlike the majority of her classmates, He was awesome, agile - a stereotypical top student who was everything she wasn't.

But now, although she still looked up to him, it wasn't just Sasuke or Ino anymore. Instead, she was starting to see that there were so many people out there with skills and abilities beyond her imagination. A lot of them almost her own age, in fact.

Whether it be Lee(who was currently still in rehabilitation), Shikamaru, Hinata, or numerous others who'd shown protentional she never would have believed was possible upon first becoming a genin. She was beginning to feel completely outmatched by the world around her. She'd barely managed in fights like with The Otonin, did absolutely nothing except guard Tazuna during The Wave Mission, and when the village was attacked in the Chuunin exams, the most she could do was delay Gaara from attacking Sasuke by some fluke, after which she was completely knocked unconscious.

It really frustrated her, and that was only putting it lightly.

And then there was Naruto... He was improving more and more each day! It was almost like every time she turned around he already had a new jutsu to show off, defeating enemies right and left, while she, on the other hand, felt like nothing in comparison. He was amazing.

Guilt once again weighed on her chest as she thought back to how he'd got hurt protecting her.

Weak. Useless. You're just a burden to everybody around you. You're always holding them back. You'll never be good enough. Stupid. Stupid.

These were things she occasionally said to herself on a regular basis, but suddenly the voice was back, replaying over and over in her head like a mantra, criticizing her for every little mistake she'd made in her entire life.

She didn't know if it was her mother talking or if it was her talking, but she didn't care anymore because it was true. Sure, she'd asked to be Tsunade's apprentice, and Tsunade agreed to it, but the doubts bugged her again.

Was it the right choice?

Would she be able to handle it?

Would it do her any good?

Wouldn't she just be holding her back like she'd been holding everybody else back?

No. She couldn't think about these things.

Sakura internally scolded herself. She'd told herself that she would get stronger, no matter what anybody else may say. She refused to go back on her resolve. And her thought process just now had made it abundantly clear to her exactly why.

Never again, She never wanted anybody else to have to get hurt on her account ever again.

So she couldn't keep wallowing in her self-pity or nothing would ever change.

And Ino was right, she also needed to tell somebody about Naruto or that wouldn't change either.

...

Iruka had grabbed a chair and was now sitting beside Naruto's stretcher as Kakashi caught him up on everything relevant that had happened over the past week.

Iruka kept sparing occasional glances to Naruto, who seemed to keep avoiding his gaze. No doubt the boy was still feeling shame and frustration at causing everybody so much worry, especially Iruka. But Iruka himself knew that expression better than anybody else. A part of Naruto still resented having been found out and didn't like being in this situation.

But, really, who could blame him for that?

"Um, Uzumaki-san? My name is Doctor Kamaji. I'd like to ask you a few questions if that's alright with you?" A middle aged man with a mustache walked in.

Kakashi subconsciously prepared for Naruto to start mouthing off the doctor, but sighed in relief at Naruto's response.

"Uh, sure, I guess." Naruto had thought it over for a second before responding.

Kakashi found this to be very reassuring. Earlier, Naruto had flat out refused to even speak to any nurses or doctors at all, let alone answer their questions, so at least they appeared to be making some progress.

"Well, first off, do you mind telling me what brings you in today?" Kamaji inquired.

"...Shouldn't that already be on your record or something..." Naruto muttered. Despite how aware he and everybody else was of it, he didn't like being asked to say that he had been hurting himself. Least of all to some guy he just met.

Much to the concern of Iruka and Kakashi, Naruto immediately appeared to be becoming flustered by being asked to talk about it.

"Well, it is, but I want to hear it from you." Kamaji probed, pretending to not notice the scratch marks on Naruto's arm.

At hearing that, Naruto grew silent, debating if he should speak or not, what he should say.

"...Naruto, remember what we talked about." Iruka smiled softly, placing a hand over his arm to tell him it would be okay. "You don't have to say anything you're not comfortable with, but at least try to put a name to this. That's all we're asking of you."

Admitting he had a problem was a better start than nothing.

Naruto met his eyes momentarily as he considered Iruka's words before looking down at the scratches on his arm.

A name, huh?

"...About a week ago, Kakashi-sensei found out that I was hurting myself, so Tsunade-obaa-chan sent me here cuz she thinks it'll help me somehow..." Naruto finally said in a low voice. It still wasn't comfortable to say and to be honest, if Iruka or Kakashi hadn't been there, he knew he wouldn't have told him anything.

"Hokage-sama sent you here?" Kamaji inquired, without questioning the exact details of Naruto's ties with the Fifth Hokage for him to be so informal.

"Yeah..." Naruto nodded his confirmation. "She healed my injuries before I got here though, so these were from a short while ago..."

"I see..." Kamaji mused, scrawling something onto the papers in his clipboard. "Are you in any pain right now?"

"Not really."

"Can you tell me how long this has been going on for?"

Naruto once again had to hesitate for a moment on that one. That was hard to answer. It was true that he'd actually only started cutting himself a couple months ago, give or take, but before that, he would occasionally take to punching walls, trees and mirrors to relieve stress and draw blood, which could easily be chalked up to a training accident if anybody asked. Did that count? He supposed it could...

"...Well, it wasn't really something that happened much before, at least not that I was aware of. But lately... The urges keep getting stronger, like it's all I can think about, y'know?" He finally said, trying his best to ignore everybody's gazes.

"Was there... any kind of recent trigger that made them worse...?" Kamaji wanted to know.

"...No, none that I can think of, it just sort of happened one day." Naruto said vaguely, immediately apposed to the direction this conversation was going. There had in fact been something that happened when the cutting actually started, but, as he'd told himself over and over again, none of them needed to know that.

Unknown to him, everybody in the room could tell that he was holding something back, but decided not to press him on it.

"At this current moment, are you having any thoughts about hurting yourself or anybody else?" Kamaji asked.

"...Just myself..." Naruto murmured in a barely audible voice. Earlier, he would have flat out said no, but he felt he at least owed Kakashi and Iruka somewhat of an honest answer after all the worry he'd caused them. Besides... He'd made a promise to Iruka to say when he felt like hurting himself, and he wasn't one to go back on his word over something like that.

"On a scale of one to ten, can you tell me how bad the urges are?"

"...It actually just went up to a ten." Naruto sunk in on himself in response. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, and his breathing was becoming uneven.

If not for Iruka moving over to gently hold onto his arm, keeping him grounded, he was absolutely certain he would have already dug his nails into his wrist by now.

At the moment, all he wanted to do was make himself bleed, to make himself feel pain, and shut out the overwhelming emotions he was feeling.

All he needed to do right now was escape.

Stop with the questions already.

Just mind your own damn business.

I can't take this anymore...!

An irrational voice in the back of his head kept wanting to shout these things at the doctor who was only trying to do his job.

The doctor scribbled down something else onto his papers before he went to typical questions, mainly about if he was on any drugs, medication, whether or not Naruto had ever had any surgeries before, etcetera etcetera.

Kamaji then got up and stood in front of Naruto.

"I'm going to push on your stomach, can you tell me if it hurts here?" He asked, reaching out near Naruto's pelvis.

Despite his bad mood, Naruto couldn't help but laugh when Kamaji pressed his hand up to his waist line. Iruka and Kakashi smirked a bit at the sight. It was well known that Naruto was one of the most ticklish people out there.

"No pain?"

"No, it's mostly just ticklish." Naruto choked out in laughter again, before the doctor pulled away(after looking into his ears and throat and listening to his heart beat, blood pressure and pulse, of course).

"I have one other question and then I'll get out of your hair, alright?" Kamaji smiled lightly. "Are you by any chance sexually active?"

That's where Naruto looked away. The hesitation was clear for every party in the room, and while his body language wasn't intense enough to alarm them, it did leave them with questions.

"...Naruto?" Iruka urged him to answer the doctor. Last he knew Naruto didn't even have a girlfriend. Sure, he liked Sakura, but she was in love with Sasuke, wasn't she? So who else could have been with him? Being embarrassed about a relationship, especially at his age, wasn't that surprising, but even so... something about it just didn't feel right to him.

Kakashi felt the same. He'd been around Naruto enough recently to know that he had never mentioned anything about being with anybody. Furthermore, he was obviously still into Sakura, but surely there couldn't be anything going on between them, right? For one, they were just kids, but secondly, even if Sakura had been growing closer to Naruto, she still liked Sasuke, so it couldn't be her.

But then who...?

Well, it wasn't like it mattered. That kind of thing was Naruto's business and if he didn't want to tell anybody then that was his prerogative. Still...

Something was clearly off about it, and both Iruka and Kakashi momentarily exchanged glances, but without any proof to back up their suspicions, it was just baseless conjecture, and nobody could press him on it.

"H-Huh?" Naruto gazed up at hearing Iruka's voice, before giving a lop sided smile, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. "Oh, sorry about that, I guess I got kind of distracted there for a second, ha-ha... Anyway, there's nothing going on."

"I see. Thank you for answering my questions, Uzumaki-san. If everything goes well, we're hoping to allow regular visitation starting tomorrow morning. How does that sound?"

"Really? You mean I'll be finally able to see Sakura-chan again?" Naruto quickly cheered up at hearing that, his previous bad mood completely sapped. Heck, even being able to see Sasuke's sour face would be better than having to glare at four white walls all day.

"Yeah, anybody you like. But before then, you should rest some. And if you need anything, there will always nurses around on the staff who will be more than willing to help you." Kamaji smiled.

"Okay. Thanks, doc." Naruto nodded back. In the past, he had had really bad experiences at the hospital before, and sometimes, nurses weren't all that friendly to him, but this guy, he actually kind of seemed okay, even if he did seem a little intrusive.

"Hey, I'm just doing my job. Anyway, I'll be taking my leave now." Kamaji politely made his exit after that, leaving Naruto alone with the two teachers.

"Oh, I forgot to mention that Sakura and Sasuke were actually out in the waiting room when I came here." Iruka suddenly said, catching Naruto's attention. "They were really worried about you, Naruto. I don't think I've ever seen Sasuke that desperate before. And Sakura looked like she hasn't eaten anything all day."

Even though Sakura said she ate, it was pretty apparent by her complexion that she was famished and if she had eaten something as she claimed, it wasn't much of anything at all.

Naruto already knew that they had been concerned about him, Sasuke made it all too obvious by checking his arms every night over the past few days, let alone the rest of his team's concern. But the last part of what Iruka said caught his ear and he considered his words for a second, his mind going off into an entirely different direction. "Huh? What do you mean Sakura-chan hasn't eaten? I could have sworn she got a plate of food this morning..."

He looked to Kakashi to inquire his thoughts or statement on the matter.

"Well, Sakura did say she was on some kind of diet..." Kakashi mused aloud.

"A diet? At her age?" Iruka seemed a bit surprised, turning to look at him. Sakura had always seemed kind of thin, but he'd never really thought much of it before.

"It's not that strange, is it?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow at his reaction. Her diet had seemed kind of odd to him as well, but he was no expert on dieting or nutrition to say for certain if it was healthy.

"No, it's just..." Iruka mused, remembering how pale Sakura had looked earlier. If that was the result of dieting then surely it couldn't be good. "Maybe you should get some advice from a doctor on the matter, because she really didn't look good earlier."

Also... While it was true that he was by no means an expert about it, since he was really just there to teach kids the basics and fundamentals of becoming a shinobi, he had met and taught kids who just so happened to have eating disorders, and he could easily say that it was one of the worst things any Shinobi could struggle with especially if they went into the battlefield. If one wasn't taking proper care of their body, they could end up passing out from dehydration and hunger or worse.

Needless to say, there were numerous reasons why issues like that needed to be tackled before it got out of hand.

Kakashi considered his suggestion, but before he could speak up his thoughts were cut off.

"I just don't get it..." Naruto said, frustrated, catching the attention of both Iruka and Kakashi.

"Don't get what? What's wrong, Naruto?" Iruka asked, glancing back over at him.

That's when the realization hit Naruto like bricks, why she'd started offering him her meals, whether it be only part of it or all of it. Why she had got so upset when he mentioned her fixation on sweets to tease her. And, most importantly, why she had seemed to barely want to touch food after eating on the first night of their mission. "Why does Sakura-chan want to lose weight so badly? She's just fine the way she is, isn't she...? She's the prettiest girl I know!"

"That's the second time you've said that about her." Kakashi noted, causing Naruto to blush a bit at being called out.

"Huh? H-hey, I didn't mean it like that! I just... I can't stand to see her hate herself. It really frustrates me..." Naruto looked back down sheepishly.

Despite his denial, however, it was all too obvious. There was no doubt Naruto was concerned for Sakura, but there was more to his repetitive praise for her than just that.

"Sakura has always been the most self-conscious of you three, but..." Kakashi thought about it for a second before Iruka gave a suggestion of his own.

"You think it's possible that something else could be bothering her? Aside from the stuff with Naruto, I mean." Iruka questioned, catching Naruto's eye at the suggestion.

"It is likely. In any case, I'm actually about to go out and talk with her myself, so try not to worry too much about it, alright, Naruto...? I'm sure Sakura will be just fine." Kakashi said, as he got up. He too had been rather concerned by Sakura's so called "diet" and quite obvious insomnia, not to mention Sasuke's nightmares and less apparent avoidance of food as well, but hadn't really spoke about any of it with them due to his attention being sapped by Naruto's issues, but now that Naruto had somebody trustworthy looking after him in the meantime, he could finally take some time to focus on his other students' situations too.

"O-okay. Thanks, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto smiled softly, receiving a pat on the head from his teacher.

He turned to look at Iruka. "You two will be fine here by yourselves, right?"

"Of course..." Iruka nodded, smiling lightly.

"Yeah, just go on already." Naruto grinned.

"Well, if you say so." Kakashi sighed, before leaving Naruto in Iruka's care.

...

Sakura couldn't help but find herself a bit concerned when Sasuke still hadn't returned yet.

She supposed it wasn't like this kind of thing was particularly odd or anything as of late, coming from him. In fact, outside of missions, it had kind of started to become the norm.

Sasuke taking off and vanishing for several hours or days, next to nobody even knowing where he was...

It was times like this that she once again found her mind wandering, despite herself.

"I left him with a parting gift... Eventually, Sasuke-kun will be forced to seek me out... In the quest for power."

The strange mark on Sasuke's neck, left by Orochimaru, which had not only interfered with his Sharingan and Chakra, but also caused him to break that Oto-nin Zaku's arm in revenge for Zaku hurting her.

Sasuke's brother Itachi, who massacred his clan...

"This is my burden to bear, alone."

"It's my decision and it's none of your business."

She bit her lip, gripping at the fabric of her dress.

Had something happened? Was that why he hadn't come back? Where was he?

"Mind if I sit here?"

Startled, Sakura looked up at hearing Kakashi's voice.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura perked up a bit. "How is Naruto? Are they going to let visitors back to see him yet?"

"No, not until tomorrow morning." Kakashi shook his head, feeling a bit bad when Sakura's shoulders slumped. He quickly knew he had to say something to cheer her up. "But Naruto's doing just fine, he seems to be feeling better, at least. Plus. I'll even let you in on a little secret."

"Well, that's good." Sakura sighed in relief at hearing that before raising an eyebrow. "Wait, a secret?"

Kakashi smiled with his one visible eye now that he had her attention. "Naruto said he's really looking forward to seeing you tomorrow."

At hearing that, she was immediately caught off guard, feeling her face heat up.

"Huh? M-me? Well, I mean it is a hospital. Of course he's looking forward to having visitors. Even Sasuke-kun visiting him would be enjoyable to Naruto in a situation like that." Sakura rationalized, but still couldn't help but blush a bit at hearing his words. What was the point of telling her something weird like that? Was it weird?

In truth, she actually found it flattering that Naruto found her presence so reassuring, but there wasn't anything special about it, right?

Right, Naruto was that kind of guy who was touched by basically anything.

That had to be all there was to it.

Still, if she knew that was the case, why was her heart beating as fast as it was? Stupid Sensei, he just had to have the worst timing and made something seem weird when it wasn't.

Kakashi narrowed his eye, seeing through her act, a bit taken aback by the fact that she was suddenly blushing, but suddenly remembered something. "Ah, that reminds me... Where is he Sasuke? I didn't see him when I came out here."

"I'm not sure... He walked off earlier and said there was something he needed to take care of. But he hasn't come back since." Sakura told him, with a worried expression.

"I see..." Kakashi pondered it. Although he was a bit concerned at first, he decided he could just talk to Sasuke later. "Well, I guess it's fine. There's something I wanted to talk with you about anyway."

"Oh, sure. What is it?" Sakura wanted to know.

"..." Kakashi hesitated wondering if it was a good idea to talk about Sakura about such a touchy subject. If his suspicions were off base, the line of questioning could even come off as harassment which was the last thing he wanted. Still, the question had to be asked. "I need you to be completely honest with me... When was the last time you ate anything?"

Sakura immediately looked away, confirming that everybody else's questions were not unfounded.

"...I just ate this morning, why do you ask...?" Sakura said in a hesitant voice, telling him the same thing she'd told Iruka.

It's just as I thought... She's even worse at lying than Naruto is...

Kakashi felt his eyebrow furrow grimly.

"Sakura... it's not really my place to get involved in this sort of thing, but, as your teacher, I do bare the responsibility of making sure you're taking care of yourself, so I would prefer it if you didn't lie to me." Kakashi said softly, trying to reason with the girl, who seemed to tense up out of guilt for being called out. He rested a hand on her shoulder as a means to reassure her. "Don't worry, I'm not going to get mad at you, I just want you to know that you can trust me... If there's something bothering you, you can always come talk to me..."

Sakura then looked up at him, considering his words. Ino basically said the same thing to her.

For a moment, a part of her almost wanted to tell him the truth, because, logically, she knew that the lengths she'd been going under the premise of a diet wasn't normal for anybody, but what if he told somebody else and it got back to her parents?

She would never hear the end of it from her mother.

For one, Mibuki would just claim she was trying to embarrass her and cause trouble for her, as she always did, that she was "creating drama over nothing".

Once again, she was sure it would be just like when she was being teased in the academy by Ami and her friends.

Mibuki and Kizashi had done absolutely nothing at all to stop it, even going as far as to laugh it off as her just being "oversensitive". At some point, Mibuki just got tired of hearing about it all together, invalidating and fussing at her to make Sakura feel completely invisible to everybody around her.

Maybe that was when she first realized she couldn't trust them. Not just that, but it seemed like every single time she had a concern or needed somebody to talk to, they always shot her feelings down like they didn't matter, like she didn't know what she was talking about. They didn't understand her at all.

And despite how much her mother frustrated her, it really hurt down deep, because they were her parents. She was supposed to be able to rely on them for advice and support, but she couldn't even have that much when it came to them.

They couldn't know about this. She couldn't risk it.

But, even so, Sakura wasn't an idiot. She also knew Kakashi wouldn't buy it if she said she'd already eaten again. That wouldn't work on him, and he'd probably just end up even more suspicious. So she had to come up with something believable that wasn't too obvious.

"...I um..." Sakura avoided his gaze. "Well, I really have been eating, or at least trying to, but I just... I keep getting sick, so I can't stomach anything without throwing it up..."

It wasn't entirely a lie. She really did get sick when she ate, and she really did usually end up throwing it up.

Kakashi, after a moment of internal debate, seemed believe her. And although he did feel some relief at the idea that maybe she wasn't intentionally starving herself, it was still concerning to him. Whether it be intentional or not, the fact remained that Sakura was malnourished.

"...If that's the case, why didn't you say anything...? I'm sure we could have talked it over with Tsunade-sama and she could have given you some suggestions about your diet... What if you passed out on a mission? What would you do then?" Kakashi said.

"...I didn't want to worry you. You already have problems going on with Naruto and Sasuke-kun, anyway. I'd just be causing you unnecessary trouble by getting you involved..." Sakura smiled shakily.

"Sakura, you're my student." Kakashi immediately insisted. "These kinds of things are important to me. And regardless of what anybody else may say, you will never be a burden to me. Now will you please tell me who could have possibly made you feel this way...?"

"...I always feel this way..." Sakura let the statement slip out without thinking, feeling a sense of panic that it was gonna be perceived as rude. "Oh, um, I mean... I just... I..."

She stumbled over her words trying to think of a way to explain herself. but before she could, Kakashi stroked the top of her head, cutting her off.

"It's okay. There's no need to explain yourself. It just means we have some work to do, right?" He smiled a bit.

"Mn..." Sakura uttered, feeling herself slump, before looking up at him. "Alright, but you have to promise me you won't my parents about this, Kakashi-sensei. Please, they can't know anything about this."

Kakashi rose an eyebrow, but figured it was a normal request in the end. Most kids didn't want to get their parents involved in their issues, and Sakura hadn't even wanted to get him involved in it so it wasn't really a surprise to him.

"Alright, but in the meantime, I want you to continue trying to eat even if it's only a little bit, alright? If this keeps up, I'm going to have to ask that you talk with Hokage-sama about this, because this isn't normal."

"I know... I'm really sorry..." Sakura murmured, feeling guilty.

"Don't apologize. It isn't your fault..." Kakashi shook his head. Despite that, a part of him still wanted to ask Tsunade about it. Because the idea of Sakura passing out from hunger, even at her home just really bothered him.

And Sakura wholeheartedly begged to differ with his statement. If only he knew.

But he didn't need to.

However... There was something he did need to know. "Kakashi-sensei...?"

"Hm?" Kakashi glanced down inquisitively at her.

"There's something I need to talk with you and Hokage-sama about..." Sakura avoided his gaze. "It's about Naruto."

Kakashi didn't even have to ask, because he could already tell just by the tone in her voice that whatever it was was serious.

"Do you want to-" He started to ask, but right as he was speaking, he was cut off by the sound of a window shattering and some ear shattering screams, as well as what almost sounded like a thousand birds.

"Don't ever speak Itachi's name in front of me again, or I'll make you regret it, you bastard!" An enraged voice shouted.

Oh boy.

Kakashi already knew who before even getting up.

"That sounded like Sasuke-kun...!" Sakura looked up at Kakashi in alarm before she and Kakashi followed the sound of the commotion.

When they rounded a couple corners, they saw numerous nurses and a doctor standing around, before their focus was drawn to Sasuke, who was currently pinning an older boy probably around the age of 18 to the ground. The entire window behind him was shattered, glass shards lying on the floor around him. Lightning surrounding his hand, he just barely seemed to be holding himself back from finishing him off.

But that wasn't all.

Not only was Sasuke's Sharingan activated, but his cursemark was as well, spreading around his neck and up the right side of his face. Whatever had transpired between Sasuke and the boy beneath him or whatever was said to Sasuke must have been bad enough to set him off and since it had clearly been about Itachi, it wasn't really that shocking. Saying anything about Itachi or the Uchiha clan could be enough to set Sasuke off, especially lately, with how his irrational emotional state had been.

"Sasuke, you have to let him go." Kakashi said sternly approaching him. He didn't want to restrain Sasuke, but he would do so or even knock him out, if he had to.

"Stay back...!" Sasuke glared at him, threateningly.

"Sasuke-kun, please, try to calm down...!" Sakura pled, throwing Sasuke off guard.

"Sakura...?" He froze, before looked over at his teammate, feeling a pang of guilt when he saw the pained expression on her face, the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Whatever happened, I'm sure we can talk about it, so please, you don't have to do this..." She said in a choked up voice.

Shit.

Sasuke mentally cursed himself, looking down at the panicked expression on the boy's face.

This was just like in the forest of death. Yet again, he had let his emotions get the better of him. Yet again, he had let the cursemark control him.

Yet again...

"Please..." Sakura said again, as Sasuke met her eyes.

He had made her worry about him.

"Foolish little brother... You don't have enough... Hatred..."

"Damn it...!"

Despite himself, he avoided hitting the boy, instead blasting a hole into the ground beneath him. He then felt his Chidori fade, as he fell to his knees, losing his initial resolve. The cursemark retracted and his Sharingan turned back to black.

He couldn't do it.

Not in front of her.

Not again...

No matter how much the guy had pissed him off for speaking about things he didn't have the slightest clue about, he could never let Sakura see that side of him again.

He absentmindedly looked down at the shards of glass from the window embedded in his arm, gritting his teeth as he made no move to stop the boy from leaving.

"Maa, sorry about that, everyone..." Kakashi said, nervously, scratching the back of his head, all too aware of the sedative in one of the doctor's hands. He didn't by any means approve of the damage Sasuke had done to the hospital window or the floor but, at the very least Sasuke had managed to once retract the cursemark before he seriously hurt somebody and for that alone he couldn't be prouder of him.

"Can you stand?" Kakashi asked softly, kneeling down beside him.

"...Yeah..." Sasuke murmured in a low voice, but made no move to get up.

"Come on... Let's get you cleaned up." Sakura smiled softly, holding out a hand, and lifting him to his feet. Sasuke silently complied, following in tow.

Neither one of them knew what had set him off but that conversation would have to wait. Right now, they just needed to focus on getting the glass shards out of his skin and his arm bandaged up.

...

A/N: Wow I hope that's fine. I had originally wanted to make this longer, the the ordering of events was also far different before and and I'm still struggling with the next scenes so I feel leaving it off here should be fine. A lot of the stuff and dialogue was based off personal experiences, so yeah. Also as I've clarified, this will be NaruSaku, but since it's also Team 7, I felt like the last scene of this chapter is necessary because I wanted to show that not only is Sasuke starting to rely on his teammates again, but I feel like Sakura is kind of a soft spot for Sasuke if I consider scenes like where Sasuke broke Zaku's arms and almost went for Dosu, but it was Sakura who stopped him and eased that darkness in his heart. Even if we're not going for romantic, Sakura will always be one of the most important people to Sasuke and somebody he sees as family and I wanted to show case that. As for what the boy said about Itachi, that'll have to wait to be revealed but I do have plans. :D

Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts, guys. XD;;;